


Is this really a good idea?

by Silvered_Fox, zecretsantamods



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 02:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13137210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvered_Fox/pseuds/Silvered_Fox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/zecretsantamods/pseuds/zecretsantamods
Summary: It was something Clover had said right before they left. That there was a way to go to the past. It wasn’t something he thought of all that much until they were home and he saw that his grandfather was still sad. A different type of sadness from the desperate searching he’d always had as an undertone before, and Tenmyouji was still happy to be around quark but it was a forlorn type of energy. Though he’d given up on the past but he rawness of years spent hoping for a resolution left their mark.





	Is this really a good idea?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [en-el-espanol-de-la-rae](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=en-el-espanol-de-la-rae).



> Dear giftee! I hope you like this two part project! I was having a bit of trouble writing one of the characters so I decided I would double your gift <3 Here is part one, and it will be followed up by a second chapter fic with a second group of characters because I wanted to do multiple prompt combinations for you. I hope you like part 1 and I hope you also like part two!

It was something Clover had said right before they left. That there was a way to go to the past. It wasn’t something he thought of all that much until they were home and he saw that his grandfather was still sad. A different type of sadness from the desperate searching he’d always had as an undertone before, and Tenmyouji was still happy to be around quark but it was a forlorn type of energy. Though he’d given up on the past but he rawness of years spent hoping for a resolution left their mark.

  
The one thing that Quark did notice was that whenever Tenmyouji seemed extra sad, or frustrated, Quark’s being there made it better. He asked one day about what he meant by the other time lines. And got an answer he didn’t expect from a source he’d never thought they would see again.

  
Ms. Akane had come by - she had come to them out of nowhere. Tenmyouji was content to leave things as he had, walking out and not looking back and he hadn’t thought that he’d ever see her again, but something had brought her back to their doorstep, to deal with them so he figured he might as well hear her out.

What she brought though was an interesting issue. Clover needed a place to stay and she was wondering if she could remain with them for the rest of their future. Of course this brought up questions like how - I thought she could go back? and why didn’t she want to return to her brother. They had shooed him away from the conversation when they started but he was far too curious.

  
Overhearing tales of a machine that duplicated yourself and could send that copy to the past made him start to think about how his grandpa was somewhere without him. they’d talked about a plan to fix the past - but that would mean he never found his grandpa. And his grandpa could have still been lonely.

He found himself opening the door before he realized he was even moving catching their attention and meaning he had to try and explain why he was eavesdropping and why he needed them to listen.

“Um… you see…..” He tugged his hat down a bit with nerves, and then steeled his resolve. His mind wasn’t going to change even if they wanted to tell him no. “Send me to the past too.” He could see the alarm in his grandpa’s eyes and kept going before either of them could say anything against the idea. “It’s just a copy right? I’ll still be here. So you don’t have to worry about me but… if Clover can go back why can’t I? it’s not fair that Grandpa never will get to meet me. He needs me there to help him be happy.” He wasn’t willing to budge on this.

  
There was a cool down needed, so she said he couldn’t do this for a few months. He was sure his grandpa was waiting for him to change his mind with so much time to wait before he could actually do it but waiting just made him even more sure he wanted to do it. Every time he saw his grandpa be happy that he was around he was more and more sure.

  
The trip back to the moon was stressful but he kept talking about how much he wanted this to work and he was excited to see if it worked.

Ms. Akane had reassured them both that there was most likely no way that they would know if it worked even with sending him to the right place, and sending him to where clover would be.

  
The version of him that was still here would just keep going like nothing happened. But there would be a second him, and hopefully he’d be able to cheer up his grandpa in the past.

  
It had never really occurred to him that this might be an odd plan. A kid just suddenly appearing out of nowhere like he had never heard of or met. who knew how their world would be so long ago, but if their plan worked, and Clover was really sent back to a world that would be *ok* with the apocalypse not happening in it, then he wanted to try.

  
Junpei was sure to like him. Right? He had to - he was his grandpa.

  
He double checked to make sure his hat was restocked with snacks before he left. Ms. Akane had said that everything that he had with him would be sent as a copy. So he wanted to make sure he took as much as he could.

While he waited to get settled in he asked questions about what it would feel like to go into the past. She said it would just be like waking up, only he’d be waking up twice. One him would still be in the future he’d be leaving, and would keep going like nothing had ever happened, but the other him would have to keep going once he got to the past.

It was a little scary but not worse than the death game they’d just lived through.

  
As he got settled and tried to ignore his grandfather fussing over him he let them know he was ready. The lid closed down over his vision reminding him for a moment of the pod he had been stuffed in, but it didn’t really bother him and then everything went dark.

  
The next he knew the hatch was opening and a very young brown haired Ms. Akane was looking over him. The air itself smelled different. It wasn’t the scent he was used to - all stale and muggy, and it wasn’t the super filtered air from the station. It was…. fresh? Still smoggy but different. He didn’t really know a better word for it other than different.

  
Just like the face in front of him. He could definitely recognize it as her, but that meant it worked! He was in the past!

He knew his other self had to still be in the future with his grandpa because the one thing he trusted was that his grandpa would never have let him do something that would take him away from him permanently That was his whole argument to do this - that he wanted to stay with him across two timelines, but it was still disorienting to know a totally different you was going about still living their life and you’d never know about it.

  
It wasn’t like they’d ever meet because if Ms. Akane had calculated things right there was no way this was anything but the timeline they’d succeeded in creating. He’d tried to ask why she didn’t just send herself back to make sure things got done but she (and the old sigma) had gone on an explanation about the repercussions of time and the only thing he really got from their explanation was that this was something that was already branched off of their timeline, they had done what they needed to do, and she wanted to do this for Tenmyouji. Something about all the time she’d taken even though it was necessary even if he would never agree with her reasons. She’d had a wistful smile as she explained all of that and then told him to go get ready while she talked with his grandpa a bit more, and then he was here in the past.

  
He’d prepared himself to never see his grandpa again at least not the way he was but when a young man with horrible fashion sense walked in the room he realized that it might be a lot stranger than he’d expected. He understood a copy, and past but being here, and experiencing it all for himself was definitely almost more than he’d been ready for. And then he saw the way his grandpa’s younger self looked over at Ms. Akane and it was like seeing his Grandpa that first time on the moon. That barely hidden care and affection.

  
Even if this was his younger self he was still his grandpa and it just reaffirmed the whole reason he came back here in the first place.

  
“Hey” It was weird feeling shy but he wasn’t entirely sure how to explain himself. *I decided you needed me so I sent myself into the past* would go over great he was sure. It hadn’t really dawned on him that he’d have to explain who he *was* to his grandpa because he wouldn’t know him until he was being met with a blank stare and awkward feelings began bubbling up inside of him.

He had sorted out this grand plan of sending a double of himself to the past but it was really sinking in that it was a double of *himself* He was still there in the future with his grandpa right now. They probably were talking about how he was back here and it made his head hurt a bit so he stopped thinking about that and turned his attention to the room he was in. He must have been clear enough about what he did and why he did it but it was still going to take some getting used to.

This was going to be his new life so he wanted to know what he was getting into. A part of him was still amazed his grandpa even let him do this but whatever conversation he’d had with Ms. Akane after he presented his plan to them must have been what did it. He agreed and then afterwards whenever Quark wasn’t sure that he would still be on board with the plan he just reassured him that he’d given him his word that he’d let him if it was what he really wanted.

  
As he processed what he’d done he was hoping that it was indeed what he’d wanted.

  
a voice from the room over caught his attention and he ran out of the room towards it. “Quark!” Clover was there, just like he remembered seeing her talking to Alice. “How on earth are you here!”

He cut her off explaining his grand plan. What he didn’t realize was that his grandfather was standing just out of sight listening to the whole discussion.

  
When Clover’s eyes looked past him questioning how the recipient of such loyalty must have felt he realized that there was someone else there and slowly turned.

It was odd seeing his grandpa so young. Ms. Akane had sortof prepared him for it since he had seen her first as soon as he got out of the pod but this… this was his GRANDPA.

  
Hair a dark and dusty brown instead of being a shock of white, stress lines not yet etched into his skin, and an entirely different style of dress but it was still him. And he had no idea who he was.

  
For a second Quark wanted to run out of the room and curse himself for the plan but then he felt arms wrapping around him. Junpei wasn’t entirely sure what was going on other than his future self was apparently willing to send his adopted grandkid into the past but there was no way he was going to let a lost looking kid who’d just explained he’d dove into the past just so he wasn’t lonely to look so upset.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about suddenly acquiring a kid but there wasn’t really any other option but to keep him. He’d gone into the past trusting that he would be wanted, and that his presence would be a good thing.

And it looked like it was going to be.


End file.
